Smart phones are more sophisticated than ever, yet the batteries that power them have remained relatively archaic – until now.

Scientists at the University of Illinois have managed to develop the most powerful microbatteries ever created, making them almost 1000 times stronger than existing lithium batteries and paving the way for smartphones that could be charged in just one second.

‘This is a whole new way to think about batteries,’ said lead researcher William King.

Superpower: The next generation of microbatteries developed by the University of Illinois (pictured) could revolutionise mobile phone use

MICROBATTERY: HOW IT WORKS

The new batteries owe their high performance to their internal three-dimensional microstructure.

Like all batteries, they have two key components the anode (minus side) and cathode (plus side).

Building on a novel fast-charging cathode design, scientists have developed a matching anode and then developed a new way to integrate the two components at the microscale to make a complete battery with superior performance.

With so much power, the batteries could enable sensors or radio signals that broadcast 30 times farther, or devices 30 times smaller.

The batteries are rechargeable and can charge 1,000 times faster than competing technologies.

In theory a credit-card-thin phone could be charged in less than a second.

‘A battery can deliver far more power than anybody ever thought’, he said.

‘In recent decades, electronics have gotten small.

‘The thinking parts of computers have gotten small.

‘And the battery has lagged far behind.

‘This is a microtechnology that could change all of that.

‘Now the power source is as high-performance as the rest of it.’

Until recently, users have had to choose between power and energy.

For applications that need a lot of power, like broadcasting a radio signal over a long distance, capacitors can release energy very quickly but can only store a small amount.

For applications that need a lot of energy, like playing a radio for a long time, fuel cells and batteries can hold a lot of energy but they take a long term to recharge.

‘There’s [always been] a sacrifice,’ said James Pikul, a graduate student and first author of the paper.

‘If you want high energy you can’t get high power; if you want high power it’s very difficult to get high energy.

‘But for very interesting applications, especially modern applications, you really need both.

‘That’s what our batteries are starting to do.

‘We’re really pushing into an area in the energy storage design space that is not currently available with technologies today.’

Daily routine: Because of their poor battery power, modern mobiles regularly need recharging

The new microbatteries offer both power and energy, and by tweaking the structure slightly, the researchers can fine tune them so there is a better compromise between power and energy scale.

Scientists sat they owe their high performance to their internal three-dimensional microstructure.

Like all batteries, they have two key components, the anode (minus side) and cathode (plus side).

Mobile phone batteries are a frequent cause for anger because of their relatively short battery life

Building on a new fast-charging cathode design by Professor Paul Braun’s group, King and Pikul have developed a matching anode and a new way to integrate the two components at the microscale to make a complete battery with superior performance.

With so much power, the batteries could enable sensors or radio signals to broadcast 30 times farther, or devices 30 times smaller.

The batteries are rechargeable and can charge 1,000 times faster than competing technologies.

In theory, a credit-card-thin phone could be charged in less than a second.

In addition to consumer electronics, medical devices, lasers, sensors and other applications could see leaps forward in technology with such power sources available.

‘Any kind of electronic device is limited by the size of the battery – until now,’ King said.

‘Consider personal medical devices and implants, where the battery is an enormous brick, and it’s connected to itty-bitty electronics and tiny wires. Now the battery is also tiny.’

The researchers are now looking into integrating their batteries with other electronics components, as well as the manufacturability of them at a low cost.

‘We can now think outside of the box,’ Pikul said.

‘It’s a new enabling technology. It’s not a progressive improvement over previous technologies; it breaks the normal paradigms of energy sources.